New Delhi, September 10: Indian employers are the most bullish about their hiring plans for the next three months, says a survey of 35 countries. The Employment Outlook Survey, released by the US-based Manpower Inc, shows Indian companies are more eager to expand their workforce than firms in the US, the UK, China and Brazil.
It is easily among the most optimistic forecasts for Indian job seekers, who have been under the shadow of the global economic downturn since the beginning of the year. The comprehensive survey covered 5,637 employers in 30 Indian cities. It claims a favourable hiring environment across a broad spectrum of sectors – from finance to insurance, real estate, services, wholesale and retail trade, public administration and education, mining and construction.
Human resource consultants closer home point out it’s the retail business that is most bullish. The renewed push for hiring, according to Lakshmikanth, reflects the positive view employers now have of the economy. “It depends on the sentiments in corporate boardrooms and the stock market,” he says. “Even sectors like real estate, which were affected because of the meltdown during the peak period, are now recuperating and hiring.” The September Business Confident Survey of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is equally sanguine. It reports that 60 per cent of the 372 companies contacted said the performance of their respective sectors had been far better than in the past six months.
It also said 80 per cent of the companies believe the economy was on the road to recovery and expect improvements in growth in the coming months.
The sentiment at the leading jobs portal, Naukri.com , isn’t very different. “Real estate, infotech and retail were the first sectors to witness a recovery in job opportunities,” said Sumeet Singh, national head, marketing and corporate communications, of the portal’s holding company, Info Edge.
But there is a catch. Companies are hiring to fill up positions that became vacant because of retrenchments in the past few months. “One of the main reasons behind this upswing is that many companies are going for replacement hiring. So, it’s not necessarily true that new jobs are being created.” ” Indian employers have absorbed the lay- offs in the last quarter and are telling us they will resume hiring again at a conservative pace,” said Naresh Malhan, the managing director of Manpower India. “Most intend to keep their workforce intact through the end of the year.” According to the Manpower survey, banking and insurance are driving this bullish trend in hiring.
V. Raghunathan, the president of ING Vysya and managing director of GMR Group, explained: “None of the insurance companies was making enough money until some time ago. New players were entering the sector and most of them were in their gestation period. I’d say, the industry is now close to bearing fruition and hence the upswing in hiring activity.” With the meltdown now appearing like a spectre from the past, many construction projects awaiting take off have restarted and are also contributing to the improving job scenario. “Along with real estate, related industries such as steel and cement will also see a lot of hiring in the near future,” said Yogesh Verma, the group president of Jindal ITF.
–Agencies